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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25259590">With One Touch</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaerenDPity/pseuds/SaerenDPity'>SaerenDPity</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha Victor Nikiforov, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, But More Than Mature, From Banquet to Episode 4, Katsuki Yuuri has no chill, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mental Link, Omega Katsuki Yuuri, Omega Verse, Physical Link, Really Should Be Rated M+, YOI Omegaverse Week, not quite explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:34:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,900</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25259590</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaerenDPity/pseuds/SaerenDPity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>"Yuuri!" Phichit whined exasperatedly, "You were in a room full of skaters, and you didn't talk to any of them? Didn't shake anyone's hand? That's all it would take, you know.  Just skin-to-skin contact, and then your bodies are linked!"</em>
</p><p>  <em>"I… I pretty well kept to myself.  I met some sponsors, but they weren't interested in the one that took last place…" Yuuri mumbled into his mug before taking a large gulp without thinking.  He gasped around a mouthful of hot tea and gulped it down before coughing, his tongue tingling from the burn and wincing as he could feel the heat travel down his esophagus and into his stomach.</em></p><p><em>Phichit only sniggered and took a sip of his own tea, "Your soulmate probably felt that."</em><br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/>Or: A Soulmate AU where once soulmates touch each other somehow, they can feel what the other feels physically.  </p><p>Or: Yuuri really can't deal.</p><p>Or: The author just wanted to write an indulgent canon divergence</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>631</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>YOI Omegaverse Week</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>With One Touch</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Welcome to my contribution for Day 1 of YOI Omegaverse Week!</p><p>Keyword Prompt: Soulmate AU</p><p>I hope you enjoy!  I had a lot of fun writing this. ^^</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yuuri had just choked down a breakfast consisting of sencha and a far too greasy breakfast sandwich while waiting for his and Celestino's flight back to Detroit.  He was hungover, nauseous, and, frankly, just wanted to sleep<em>.</em>  Food had been the last thing on his mind when Celestino had dropped a bag of McDonald's into his lap and all but forced him to eat to stave off the worst of the effects of the banquet the night before.  So why was he so <em>hungry</em>? A wave of nausea swirled his stomach and he breathed deeply, staving off losing his breakfast.  He bent forward with a moan as Ciao-Ciao patted his back sympathetically.  As he continued to breathe, he felt his stomach calming, and the feeling of hunger soon dissipated to the point where he could sit back up and await the boarding call in miserable silence. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Yuuri was sleeping off the jetlag and the residual effects of his hangover when he woke up with a yelp.  A familiar pang spread over his hip and shoulder that was too real to simply be from the dream he had just been having.  Besides, he hadn't even been skating in the dream, he'd been pole dancing with a bottle of champagne. Again, he found himself asking a question, why did he feel like he'd just taken a spill out of a quad Salchow? </p><p>After shrugging it off as some weird after-effect of waking up mid-dream, Yuuri tried to go back to sleep.  He very nearly succeeded when he felt another ice-fall, this time, a scrape of ice across his bare hand.  Normally, it wouldn't be anything he'd wince at, but it was the exact reason he had worn gloves while practicing for years.  This time, he sat up and turned on his lamp, examining his palm. </p><p>There was nothing on it.  It looked the same as it always did, even though his nerves still burned and tingled as if he'd scraped it.  Frowning, he wondered if the lamplight just wasn't bright enough, so he stumbled out of bed and began making his way to the bathroom.  He had barely made it out into the hall when his ankle twinged and he dropped to his knees with a thud, hissing as he made contact with the floor.  His ankle didn't even really hurt, but it had been enough to scare him into not moving for fear that he really had injured himself and he'd been walking all over several international airports with an injury he'd not noticed thanks to the hangover fog.  But no, he would have noticed that.  He was always extremely careful with any sort of potential threat of injury.  It was how he'd made it to twenty-four years old without anything that would keep him off the ice for longer than a few days. Wracking his brain, he was starting to form an idea when he realized not only were his thighs pleasantly sore as if he'd been skating for a couple hours non-stop, but he was also, again<em>, starving. </em></p><p>"Yuuri?" He heard Phichit call out from his bedroom, flicking on the light as he blearily stumbled into the hall.  His grey eyes went wide as he saw Yuuri on the floor, still cradling his palm and sitting dumbfounded.   "Yuuri! What happened? Are you okay?"</p><p>"Um…" Yuuri began, the random pangs fading except for the fact he was still hungry and sore from a practice he hadn't had, "Phich, I… I think I met my soulmate…"</p><p>Phichit gasped and squealed in delight, even though Yuuri wasn't entirely convinced that was actually the case.  And even if it were, it meant that his soulmate had been in Russia.  <em>Russia</em>, and were likely also a skater as well.  Yuuri couldn't remember actually touching anyone, skin-to-skin.  He usually had his gloves on, his costume had gloves too, and besides, any skater he would have met would have been too focused on their program and gearing up for the competition to actually acknowledge him with more than a nod.  But really, he'd been so focused on Vicchan and things at home, he hadn't even bothered to socialize with anyone. </p><p>He allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and dragged to the kitchen.  Phichit sat him down on a stool, flipped the switch to their kettle and plopped two mismatched mugs in front of them.  His hands were propping up his jaw, squishing his cheeks so he looked like his own pets, and he wiggled his hips and waggled his eyebrows, waiting for the explanation.</p><p>"I um…"  Yuuri huffed, trying to get his thoughts in order.  "I just woke up and felt like… felt like I fell."</p><p>"'Fell?'" Phichit prodded eagerly with another eyebrow waggle.</p><p>"Yeah.  L-like I had fallen on the ice." Yuuri tried to explain.  "I figured I was having a weird dream, so I tried to go back to sleep… but then I felt like I scraped my hand on the ice, too… But look!" He extended his hand so Phichit could examine it, "There's nothing there."</p><p>"And what made you fall down in the hall?"</p><p>"Nothing."  Yuuri said, but Phichit raised one eyebrow with a giddy smirk, "Well, I felt… something in my ankle.  It scared me more than it hurt, like an old injury acting up or something, like when my wrist kind of spasms from when I sprained it last year?"</p><p>Phichit was humming excitedly, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.  "So… what does that mean?  Like, your soulmate is an athlete, too?  Like a skater?"</p><p>"Maybe?" Yuuri wondered aloud, "I don't know… and then there was the airport.  I was really hungover, but I was starving."</p><p>"You're never hungry when you're hungover," Phichit stated.</p><p>"I know."</p><p>"Are you sure you're not still just a little hungover?  You erm… you fell a bit this weekend, are you sure you're not just noticing the bruises?"</p><p>Yuuri winced at the memory of his disastrous performance, but he shook his head, "Celestino checked me over really well after, and I stretched for a long time and didn't feel anything wrong.  And honestly, I'm feeling more jet-lagged than anything else - Ow!"</p><p>He broke off into a hiss as somewhere, someone fell again, and Yuuri clasped his knee.  Phichit watched, wide-eyed. </p><p>"Oh, Yuuri!" He went back to squealing, noticing the kettle was ready with their hot water and moving to grab them some tea bags.  "Who is it? Who did you meet?"</p><p>"I didn't meet anyone." Yuuri grouched, wishing his soulmate was a little bit more careful while practicing.  He rubbed out his knee, trying to dissipate the pain that wasn't really his, but certainly felt like it was.  It seemed his touch actually worked, though, and a second later, the pain began to abate. </p><p>Phichit scoffed as he poured them their tea, "Yuuri, you were at the Grand Prix! There were lots of skaters there, and you must have met <em>someone</em>."</p><p>"I was too nervous before the competition," Yuuri sighed, taking his mug and bobbing the tea bag a couple of times to ensure the entire cup was mixed well,  "And after… after Mari called, I only talked to you and Ciao-Ciao."</p><p>"What about the banquet?"</p><p>"What about it?"</p><p>"Yuuri!" Phichit whined exasperatedly, "You were in a room <em>full of skaters</em>, and you didn't talk to any of them? Didn't shake anyone's hand? That's all it would take, you know.  Just skin-to-skin contact, and then your bodies are linked!"</p><p>"I… I pretty well kept to myself.  I met some sponsors, but they weren't interested in the one that took last place…" Yuuri mumbled into his mug before taking a large drink without thinking.  He gasped around a mouthful of <em>hot</em> tea and gulped it down before coughing, his tongue tingling from the burn and wincing as he could feel the heat travel down his esophagus and into his stomach.</p><p>Phichit only sniggered and took a sip of his own tea, "Your soulmate probably felt that."</p><p>Yuuri groaned and slumped against the counter.  Phichit wasn't phased though, he was already looking up the lists of everyone that had competed in Sochi.</p><p>"Wouldn't it be funny if it was Vik-" he was musing before Yuuri cut him off.</p><p>"Don't even joke about that." Yuuri rushed out.  "It can't be him."</p><p>Phichit continued on, used to Yuuri's little outbursts. Yuuri had already bemoaned his running away from getting a photo with Viktor to his best friend before the banquet.  That was the only time they'd interacted, and Yuuri had purposefully stayed on the opposite side of Viktor in the banquet hall the entire night.  He'd drank too much and then stumbled back to his hotel room.  He really couldn't remember talking to anyone. </p><p>"Christophe, then?  No… he held your hand at Skate America in the exhibition performance, you would have noticed before now.  Especially because he fell pretty badly in practice before the Prix." Phichit suggested, looking through his phone "I hope it's not Michele Crispino… you don't need to deal with a sister complex. Oh my god, Yuuri! What if it was JJ?"</p><p>Yuuri couldn't help but laugh at that, "It can't be JJ.  He's been out and proud about his soulmate all season.  And besides that… Why would he be practicing in the middle of the night?  He's probably as jet-lagged as I am."</p><p>Phichit paused in his thumb-scrolling, eyes wide.  It slowly faded into a smirk as he pushed his phone toward Yuuri.  He looked at the image there and immediately shook his head.</p><p>"It can't be Cao Bin."</p><p>"Why not?" Phichit grinned, "He's cute, he's talented, hard-working."</p><p>"He's boring," Yuuri stated.  He'd seen Cao Bin at various events over the last few years, had even beat him for silver at the NHK leading up to the Grand Prix.  (JJ, of course, had taken gold.) All he ever seemed to talk about was technical components, and when that subject tired, he went on to drone about the stock market or his father’s many, <em>many</em>, holdings across the world.</p><p>"Did you ever shake his hand when you met him before? Touch in any way?"</p><p>Yuuri thought long and hard for a minute.  There was so much handshaking and congratulating at every event, even though he did his best to avoid it.  In fact, it was something he avoided so well that Celestino had offered to get him some coaching lessons in socialization and networking.  Still, he couldn't remember shaking Cao Bin's hand, ever. </p><p>"No." He answered smally, and Phichit grinned in triumph.</p><p>"So… it can't be Viktor, because you didn't even talk.  It can't be Christophe or JJ.  I really doubt it's Michele, 'cause he's always too busy making sure Sara never touches anyone… So it must be the illustrious, wealthy Bin Cao!  <em>And</em> it's 3 in the afternoon in Shanghai - he posted an Insta an hour ago saying he was back at the rink even though he just announced he was retiring!"</p><p>It never ceased to amaze Yuuri how Phichit could stalk the internet so efficiently.  But there were two glaring demographics Phichit was missing.</p><p>"Male single skating wasn't the only competition, you know."  Yuuri reminded him.  "There were the ice dancers, pair skaters, and the female skaters, too.  They were all at the banquet."</p><p>Phichit hummed thoughtfully before shrugging with a nonplussed grin.  "Nah.  It's probably Cao."</p><p>Yuuri could only groan.</p><p>“Oh, don’t worry, Yuuri.”  Phichit patted his hand with faux-sympathy.  “This whole physical-link thing will blow over once you actually bond.  Then you can burn your tongue as much as you want, and he won’t even know.  Except for the mental bond thing.”</p><p>“Thanks,” Yuuri said dryly.  </p><p>After a day of sleeping off the jet-lag, Yuuri and Phichit had both agreed over takeout from their favorite non-Chinese Chinese restaurant (Phichit's choice, to 'celebrate his soulmate') that it would likely be best to consult with their coach.  He would have likely been the one to notice if Yuuri had spoken to anyone, or, more importantly, shook their hand.  Both also agreed to not tell their coach about their impromptu break in their diet of greasy food, even if it soothed Yuuri's guilt-eating habits. </p><p>"I'm sorry, Yuuri." Ciao-Ciao hummed thoughtfully at the rink the next morning.  "You pretty well stayed to yourself except for having some champagne.  I told you to get to bed right before I left and you said you were on your way to your room after finishing the glass you were on."</p><p>"Wh-what number was that, exactly?" Yuuri asked shyly.</p><p>"Four?" His coach mused, rubbing his chin and trying to remember.  "I can't say for sure, I was pretty deep in the wine myself."</p><p>"Such a lush, Ciao-Ciao!" Phichit teased with a giggle that was promptly cut off with a glare from the Italian.  He immediately went back to stretching. </p><p>"So… so you didn't see if I shook hands with anyone?"  Yuuri asked, the hope that Celestino had been paying attention quickly diminishing with every passing word of the conversation.</p><p>"Just some sponsors." He shrugged.  Yuuri sighed.  Sponsors wouldn't be suffering from the same pangs of falling on the ice as he did on the regular, so it was fairly safe to rule out any of them.  In a way, he was grateful that his soulmate seemed to be so athletic.  He really couldn't see himself dating a sponsor.  They were typically at least fifteen years his senior. </p><p>"Things are looking pretty good for Cao Bin, huh?" Phichit winked. </p><p>For the second time in as many minutes, Phichit stopped giggling at the glare he was given. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>However much a disaster Yuuri's life had been after Nationals, even with a shiny new degree under his belt, he would have never guessed how much it would plummet from 'disaster' into 'catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions".  He'd arrived home after three miserable legs of pre-heat addled flights, been forced to endure an impromptu meet-and-greet, had his stomach prodded and exposed to the <em>kami</em> and everyone, been told he looked like his <em>mother</em>, been fed too much katsudon for him to not feel like he was guilt-eating instead of gearing up for a heat, skated for Yuuko, had her mischievous spawn post one of the most personal performances of his life, turned off his phone so he didn't have to <em>deal</em>, and then promptly fell into his heat a couple of days later. </p><p>He had been dreading it, more than just facing the days of spending it alone.  There had awakenings in the middle of the night with evidence that his soulmate was a healthy and virile male, judging by the way he'd woken up aroused.  Whenever it happened to him, he secretly and pettily hoped he was waking <em>them</em> up too, though he never acted on it.  His soulmate, at least, seemed equally respectful, both of them allowing their erections to flag naturally instead of with a helping hand.</p><p>There wasn't any way, however, that he would be able to go through heat without touching himself.  Between the way his brain focused on only <em>one</em> thing during that time, and the way he could very easily make himself seriously ill without any sort of release, it simply wasn't feasible to resist.  There was also no doctor that would prescribe another round of suppressants, not with the competitive season being over, and him being on them for longer than what most doctors thought was healthy already.  He hoped it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience for his soulmate, whoever they were.</p><p>It was the most intense heat Yuuri had ever experienced.  As he bent forward into his pillow during the first wave, he felt like there were two hands on his cock, stroking desperately.  When he pressed his vibrator to his entrance, there was a distinct sensation of fingers prodding along until someone elsewhere found their own prostate, doubling the stars that floated across his vision.  Every time he came, it was with the force of two orgasms at once.  His soulmate kept going, even after they were both spent.  He felt his nipples being played with and twisted, a light tug at his own hair by an invisible hand, his cock was enveloped in something slick and cool and distinctly a sort of toy.  In the haven of his room, his nest, where he'd spent so many heats before, and with blue eyes staring down from posters, there was only one name that was falling in choked moans from his lips.  He didn’t have room to feel guilty that his soulmate likely went by another name, he didn't even think about it, really.  It was comforting to fall back into old habits, into imagining the tugging and pressing and pulling and stroking that sent far too many sensations over his fevered body was coming from a man with silver hair. </p><p>When he'd finally emerged from the heat, exhausted, it seemed the weather had decided to make things worse.  Instead of curling up in his nest for the day like he wanted to, he'd grabbed a shovel to help get the snow out of the way for their guests.  It was the least he could do, after all.  He could go back to sleep after. </p><p>But no.  <em>Viktor Nikiforov</em> had arrived, smelling like joy and juniper and <em>alpha</em>.  Yuuri had decided to skate on the same ice as him again one day, but it hadn't really felt solidified in his heart that he even wanted to keep skating.  There were a lot of things he'd wanted to think about before attempting to find a new coach, but the universe had other plans.  A new coach had plopped, naked no less, right into the onsen.  Like a stork had delivered a fully grown man-child who had no sense of boundaries, or tact, and lacked a restraint that rivaled Yuuri's when katsudon was plopped in front of him.  Though, to be fair, if anyone deserved a victorious, heaping bowl of fried pork, it was the Five-Time-World-Champion.</p><p>What was more, the soulmate induced soreness of his muscles, or embarrassing wake up calls were now synced to his time-zone, more or less.  It was really only off by an hour or two.  Things were looking <em>great</em> for Cao Bin.  Phichit, at least, would be thrilled.  Though Yuuri couldn't help but wonder why the newly retired skater was working himself so hard.</p><p>Add all of that to the fact that a punk teen had come in and nearly dragged Viktor back to Russia?  Needless to say, Yuuri was feeling very, <em>very</em>, overwhelmed. </p><p>After Yurio left, things seemed to get back to normal (as normal as things could be when one had <em>Viktor Nikiforov</em> begging to sleep in the same room).  That is, it was normal until Viktor cut their practice short one day, looking flushed and sweaty and dazed in a way that could only mean <em>rut.  </em>Yuuri was tired, too, and was feeling abnormal aches and cramps in his stomach.  It felt like his soulmate was probably coming down with some sort of flu.  So he helped Viktor back to Yu~Topia, installed him in his room with plenty of water and snacks, and went to lay down and take a nap. </p><p>When he awoke, he was <em>throbbing</em>.  He gasped at the intensity of it and had his hand around himself before he could even think about what it meant.  It was much the same as his heat, only this time, he wasn't chasing the sensation of being perfectly filled.  Thrumming through every vein was the need to <em>claim</em>.  It was new.  It was intoxicating.  He found himself rutting against a pillow, muffling his moans into his arm.  Vaguely, he was able to remember how his soulmate had tugged on their own hair and how much they'd seemed to like it, so he tangled his hand into his black locks and pulled.  His cock seized and he spilled with a cry onto his sheets.</p><p>Flopping onto his back, he ran his own hands across his chest, pinching and caressing as he went in an attempt to soothe, and tease, his soulmate.  It wasn't until his arousal had started to peak into that claiming need once more that he realized that his soulmate was likely an alpha, not a beta or another omega.  An alpha in rut.  Funny that they were in rut at the same time as…</p><p>He shot up in bed, eyes wide, and then moaned as an invisible hand wrapped around his cock and jerked and twisted expertly.  Stuffing his fist in mouth, he whimpered at the touch and the implications.  There wasn't any way, no <em>possible</em> way, and yet the evidence was all there.  Through muddled thoughts, he took himself in his hand again, trying to think of what else he'd missed.  They ate their meals together, so he hadn't felt his soulmate feeling particularly hungry, and they usually bathed in the onsen together, so the overwhelming heat from the water wouldn't have been noticed.  Viktor hadn't fallen while in practice, but in the times when Yuuri hadn't been at Ice Castle at the same time, that's when he'd noticed the tell-tale fatigue of a workout was strongest. </p><p>Working his hand faster, he reached around and teased around his entrance, feeling the echo of the sensation go tight as his soulmate, as <em>Viktor</em>, spent himself again.  Yuuri tumbled over the edge right behind at the intensity.  He fisted his hands in his hair, not even thinking of anything other than what he was going to <em>do</em>, and he felt his cock echo a twitch of overstimulation.  Apparently, Viktor really liked his hair being pulled. </p><p>Yuuri didn't dare to go see him, even between waves of arousal.  An alpha in rut was in the same sort of mind an omega was in heat.  Whatever sounded good in the moment wouldn't necessarily be what one would choose when not addled with pheromones and need.  So he helped, in whatever way he could.  He'd got his knotting dildo, hoping that the feeling of being filled would help sate the alpha's need of claiming, he'd bit his own hand, not too hard, but firmly, to try and recreate a sort of bonding bite. </p><p>His mother had come to check on him, and he'd told her through the door he wasn't feeling well and asked for food to just be left in the hall.  He couldn't be completely sure, but her response had seemed so understanding that it appeared <em>he</em> was the last to know that his soulmate was somehow staying under the same roof, and they weren't actually together.</p><p>By the time the alpha's rut broke, Yuuri was exhausted, and he'd had plenty of time to think.  What wasn't adding up was his heat.  He'd felt hands caressing him the entire time, but if Viktor had only arrived the night before his heat broke, then Viktor and Makkachin had been in the air for a good day or so.  Yuuri was sure that the star power of his coach didn't extend to touching himself wantonly in an airplane cabin, no matter how private a first-class seat could be.  It was possible his soulmate just happened to have a rut at the same time as Viktor.  Unlikely and not probable, but it just didn't make sense.  He couldn't go to his parents with the question, not if he wanted to sit around them without dying of embarrassment during meals, so he went to the person who had always had his back, kept his secrets as a teenager, and didn't tease so terribly badly when it was serious.</p><p>"<em>Nee-chan?</em>" Yuuri asked as he found her outside smoking.  Mari turned to face him and only lifted an eyebrow to indicate she'd heard him.  Always a woman of few words, unless she was openly fangirling about his biggest so-called 'rival'. "Um… w-when <em>exactly</em> did Viktor get here?"</p><p>"Hmmm…" She closed her eyes and took a deep drag off her cigarette as she thought, unphased by the question.  Yuuri frequently started conversations abruptly with her, and he silently thanked her for not prying into his reasons. "I think it was the night you started your heat.  That sounds right."</p><p>"Did… did um…" He tried to find the right way to word his question without giving his thoughts away, and, if he were honest, to hide a bright, glaring hope he didn't dare give voice to, "H-how was he when he got here?"</p><p>She shrugged.  "He said he felt a bit sick, something he caught on the plane.  He apologized for inconveniencing us and locked himself in one of the smaller guest rooms for a few days.  Said he didn't want to pass his flu along to anyone.  When he finally came out, he said his back hurt and he wanted to soak in the onsen.  Why?"</p><p>"I-I just realized I never um… I never asked."  Yuuri kicked at the dirt shyly, trying to suppress a well of anxiety and a grin wide enough to span the length of his morning run. </p><p>She inhaled deeply and blew smoke out from her nose, looking at him knowingly.  "Does this have anything to do with the fact you locked yourself in your room when he went into rut?"</p><p>"N-n-no!" He squeaked, eyes wide and blushing from the roots of his hair and down his neck.  "I really was just w-wondering!"</p><p>Mari smirked and flicked the ash off the end of her cigarette, "Well, I suppose if this story actually got out, they'd make a big romance movie.  You could make a lot of money if you let someone write a script about it."</p><p>"M-Mari!" Yuuri squeaked again and shook his head quickly, "No-Nothing's happening!"</p><p>"If you say so." She affected, stubbing out her smoke in her small ashtray she kept hidden in her favorite break spot.  Mari gave him another look and broke out into a small, rare, genuine smile, "Congratulations, little brother.  I'm happy for you."</p><p>This time, he didn't even have time to protest or a reason to hide his beaming smile as she walked passed him to go back to work, pausing only to ruffle his hair fondly. </p><p>Yuuri stood in the yard, staring blankly at where Mari had just been standing and grinning like a fool.  His mind was racing, picking up scattered thoughts and then leaping from one memory to the other, wracking his brain for the time that he had actually touched Viktor.  If Viktor had felt his heat, the heat where he'd been moaning for Viktor, had been in the same house, then they clearly had met before.  In Sochi.  The only interaction he'd had with his now-coach had been him asking if he wanted a commemorative photo, but they'd been meters apart, and Yuuri had all but bolted.  But then… There was also the night he couldn't remember.  The blacked-out hangover of epic proportions that signaled sometime the night before he'd met his soulmate.  Somehow, his soulmate was <em>Viktor Nikiforov!</em></p><p>There wasn't any way he could stay.  He wasn't ready to have that conversation, wasn't ready to talk to Viktor with his family ambling about the house - Mari clearly already suspected, and he wouldn't put it past his mom (or his dad, for that matter) to eavesdrop a little.  His entire body ached, but he couldn't really face Viktor in the onsen, either.  Naked was <em>not</em> how he wanted to have a conversation about the heat and rut they'd seemingly shared, merely a few doors apart. </p><p>He'd been at Ice Castle for nearly two hours, practicing as best he could with how muddled and panicked his head was (How was he supposed to bring it up?!) when Viktor stumbled in.  Sunglasses over his eyes, moving stiffly, hair looking a bit ruffled and still damp from the onsen bath Yuuri had felt him have. </p><p>"Yuuri!" Viktor offered a happy wave as he dropped his bag on one of the benches, right next to where Yuuri had left his own things.  "Sorry, I'm late.  I think today we should focus on the step sequence for your free skate.  I’m a bit too tired for jumps right now-"</p><p>Yuuri had skated toward him, stomach flipping and palms sweating, as he spoke.  Even rut-rumpled and sore, like Yuuri could <em>feel</em> he was, Viktor was stunning.  He watched, dumbfounded that this man, this gorgeous, dorky, man-of-his-dreams alpha, was his soulmate. Viktor tugged his boots on and laced them tightly, still rambling about his ideas for the step-sequence.  He couldn't help but wonder if the alpha also knew what Yuuri had realized.  Was that the reason he'd come to Hasetsu?  Surely it wouldn't have been only a random video of a fan skating his routine that would be enough for him to uproot his entire life, his <em>dog</em>, his apartment, and move across the world, his body making music or not.  But if he knew, then why didn't he say anything? </p><p>And then it hit Yuuri all at once.  Viktor <em>had</em> said, had been dropping hints, right from the start.  He'd begged for weeks to get to know Yuuri, to build trust, and he'd done nothing but shut him out, too wrapped up in his own anxiety, his own mind, to recognize the signs.  The first night he'd known Viktor was there, he'd wanted to spend the night in Yuuri's room, had touched him, had followed him around like an over-excited puppy, and Yuuri had done nothing but shove him away.  Was that what the whole Onsen on Ice competition had been about?  Had Viktor been trying to see if Yuuri actually wanted him to be there? To prove it?  How much had he hurt Viktor by pushing him away? </p><p>Yuuri followed Viktor in a daze as he continued to fill the silence between them with his ideas, skating along the edge of the boards as Viktor made his way to the entrance.  He stood in front of Viktor, still staring in awe, as he laughed.</p><p>"Are you going to let me on the ice, Yuuri?" Viktor chuckled, looking pointedly at how Yuuri was blocking the entrance.  Even the way Viktor said his name, had always said his name, was affectionate.  <em>How had he missed it?</em></p><p>"How did we meet?" Yuuri burst out, not moving aside, with his cheeks burning.  Viktor's eyes grew large, his eyebrows nearly disappearing under his hairline.  He cocked his head to the side with a tiny frown as he considered Yuuri's question.</p><p>"At the Grand Prix Final in December.  I asked if you wanted a photo, remember?"</p><p>"Yes! No… I mean."  Yuuri took a deep breath, "How did… when did we… Did-did I shake your hand at-at the banquet?"</p><p>Viktor's frown deepened and Yuuri wanted nothing more now than to kiss it away.  But he couldn't.  He had to be absolutely sure, had to have Viktor confirm it, too.</p><p>"No," Viktor said slowly, studying him closely.  "We danced."</p><p>"We <em>danced</em>?" Yuuri squeaked out, his stomach flipping and plummeting all at once.  "But… How?"</p><p>"You challenged Yurio to a dance-off."  Viktor shrugged, his eyebrows still knit together, like he was trying to figure something out, too.  "And when you won, you claimed that dancing with me was the prize and pulled me onto the dance floor."</p><p>"I was drunk," Yuuri whispered in disbelief, and that had Viktor laughing. </p><p>"Yes, you were!  You're a funny drunk, Yuuri.  The party had been so boring until you brought it to life."</p><p>"No!  I was<em> really </em>drunk." Yuuri said again, more insistently, "I-I don't remember any of it."</p><p>Viktor's eyes went wide again, his perfect mouth parted in surprise.  Confusion overwhelmed his scent, along with a twinge of hurt that made Yuuri wince.  He could feel a pressure in his chest that he wasn't sure was coming from himself or from Viktor. </p><p>"You don't… remember asking me to be your coach?"</p><p>Yuuri flushed and shook his head.  "I-I did that?"</p><p>"<em>Da</em>, and I..." Viktor whispered, staring somewhere over Yuuri's shoulder in shock.  "Yuuri?  You don't remember?"</p><p>Yuuri slowly stepped off the ice.  He was so close, so very close to Viktor now, as he reached out shyly for Viktor's hand.  Tentatively, he linked a finger around Viktor's, and Viktor grabbed his hand and squeezed like it was a lifeline. </p><p>"I remember feeling really, really hungry the next morning." Yuuri said quietly, studying his face, "But I'm never hungry when I'm hungover.  And then when I got back to Detroit… I was asleep and I woke up because I felt like I had fallen on the ice."</p><p>"Right…" Viktor finally looked at him, barely breathing, looking as though his head was still trying to catch up.  "I had trouble concentrating that first practice home because I felt a little jet-lagged for no reason.  I fell a couple of times." </p><p>"And my-my heat."  Yuuri swallowed, "It was so intense.  It felt amazing… Y-you weren't actually sick when you got here, were you?"</p><p>"No, I wasn't."  Viktor's eyes darkened deliciously at the memory, his breath catching, and Yuuri felt his briefs tighten as his, or Viktor's, arousal started to pool in his stomach. </p><p>"And the last couple days?"  Yuuri asked, looking up hopefully, biting his lip. "I-I tried to help you as best I cou-"</p><p>Viktor yanked Yuuri forward, their lips colliding.  Yuuri whimpered against them, but latched on to Viktor's neck, pulling him impossibly closer.  Viktor's mouth was moving against his, hungry, desperate.  His arm wrapped around Yuuri's waist, his other hand tangling into his hair, and Yuuri moaned as they pressed together completely.  He could feel their erections through their loose pants.  The bubbling, milky sensation he felt deep in his stomach and through his veins was mirrored in Viktor. </p><p>He gasped into Viktor's mouth, and they parted slightly to catch their breath. </p><p>"And you… you just figured this all out?" Viktor asked, chest heaving, his palm cradling Yuuri's cheek. It seemed he couldn't help it, he started peppering tiny kisses all over Yuuri's face, his nose, his cheek, along his jaw, down his neck.  "It was so <em>obvious.</em>"</p><p>Yuuri let out a breathless whimper, clinging to Viktor's shoulders.  "I'm sorry…"</p><p>Viktor lifted his head, a smile playing along his Cupid's bow.  He pressed a soft, gentle kiss against Yuuri's lower lip.  "<em>Baka.</em>" He teased warmly, and when Yuuri blushed, he began to giggle.  Yuuri joined in, laughing softly and returning Viktor's kisses in kind. </p><p>"You know, Yuuri…" Viktor said, his tone still playful, his hands wandering down Yuuri's back and over his sides as Yuuri placed tender kisses down the long, thin column of his neck.  "Now that you know, you shouldn't fall so often."</p><p>Yuuri paused and pulled away to look up.  "What?"</p><p>"My poor hips and knees." Viktor pouted, though his eyes were gleaming.  "I'd think you'd want to be more gentle with my body."</p><p>Yuuri bit his lip, fighting back a grin.  Viktor was, too, until they both couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing, pressing back into a fierce hug.  Yuuri nuzzled right into Viktor's neck, where he could smell the juniper of Viktor's scent the best.  He felt Viktor do the same and take a deep breath.  Tears of joy welled up in Yuuri's eyes.  He squeezed them shut and held Viktor tighter.</p><p>"<em>Baka.</em>" He whispered, taking another deep breath of everything <em>Viktor Nikiforov</em>.  </p>
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